The Year 12 and 13 Scholarship English students were privileged to receive an intimate lesson with a Shakespeare buff and professional actor this afternoon. Jonathan Tynan-Moss has just finished acting in the extremely successful extended season at the Pop-Up Globe. Jonathan played Romeo in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and Sebastian in ‘Twelfth Night’ with both productions receiving critical acclaim. The Englishman has also previously performed at the Edinburgh Festival, in London’s West End, and in conjunction with the Scottish National Theatre.

The students had attended the Pop-Up Globe to watch ‘Titus Andronicus’ so they were eager to hear about what it was like to perform on the unique stage. Jonathan was able to share his experiences of acting in his lead roles, and how it differed from his previous professional shows. He gave the students interesting tips for reading Shakespeare, including trying to read the plays as if you’ve never read them before and to clear your mind of what is coming up in the plot. That way you will have a better chance of discovering something you hadn’t noticed before and it will allow you to become more deeply immersed in the characters.

The historical context of when Shakespeare was writing is also important to know when reading his plays. Jonathan gave the background to what was happening in Britain when ‘Macbeth’ was being written, and how this may have influenced the play. A number of students volunteered to read the play, in the parts of Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and the three witches. As they read, Jonathan translated the play in modern language to give an enhanced sense of the action. He also gave a valuable demonstration of iambic pentameter and trochaic tetrameter which Shakespeare’s plays use to convey a character’s social status and state of mind.

The budding actors among the students had plenty of questions for Jonathan, about his path to becoming a professional and life as an actor. We thank Jonathan for generously sharing his time and expertise! 

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